Shattered Past
by Capitaine Jaf
Summary: After Scourge, there was Shatter. But where did Shatter come from? This is the beginning of the cat who became BloodClan's second great leader. Prequel to Shattered Clan.
1. Prologue

_Dedicated to Amber_

**Second in the Shattered Trilogy**

* * *

**Prologue**

When I first opened my eyes, I saw my mother. She was beautiful, long silver, white and black fur. Her voice was all ready familiar to me, and I watched her meow gently "Shard, he's opened his eyes!"

I heard rustling behind me, and I turned to see my father. He was huge, silver and covered with black spots. I had heard my parents saying that I looked just like him. I glanced down at my own paws... silver with dark spots! In awe, I looked back up at my father.

"Shatter," his huge head came down and nudged my gently. "What's it like to see?"

"Its amazing!" I meowed in excitement. "Everything's so much more... more better!"

My mother purred, "More better?"

I nodded. Then, I saw another cat, this one smaller than me. "Wren!" I meowed. "Wren! I can see you!" My sister looked like me and my father, with slightly different colouring. I walked over to her. "Wren! You look just like me and papa, but you're fur's more..."

"Creamy," my mother suggested.

I nodded. "Yes, creamy," I had no idea what that meant, but it seemed to make sense. "Your fur's more creamy, and your spots are more... um..."

"Brown," my father meowed.

I nodded again, "Yes, more brown," I meowed confidently.

"Go away, Shatter," my sister meowed.

"But Wren, you have to open your eyes and look at everything!"

"I don't want to. I want to sleep."

"Wren, come on."

(***)

Despite my complaining, Wren didn't open her eyes until sunhigh. Once she did, I convinced my parents to let us look outside the den. My mother was worried at first, but I father reassured her by meowing "Willow, we'll be right there watching them." So, Wren and I took our first steps outside the den.

My parents explained that we lived in dead twoleg monster. The idea scared me, but I could see that all that was left of the monster was a hard shell, and the strange squishy things that we slept on inside the monster. We explored everything we could. Every nook and cranny. We asked our parents countless questions. I even caught a bug, which my parents called a grasshopper.

While my sister and I explored, my father went out hunting. He returned home with a couple of mice, which he dropped in front of us. "These are mice," he told us.

Wren prodded one with her foot. "Its tiny!"

"You're tiny," I teased, prodding her side the same way she had the mouse.

"So are you," she retorted.

I purred and leapt away from her before she could poke me. While she was distracted by the mice, I decided to climb up on top of the monster shell. It looked so high! "Wren! Let's go up there!"

Wren followed my gaze. "Up there?"

I nodded. "Come on, Wren. We'll be able to see anything." I ran over to its side and started to climb up. Wren reluctantly followed me.

"Be careful," Willow meowed.

"I am being careful," I replied. I climbed up the last bit and helped Wren up. Then he looked around. It was amazing. I could see everything! It must have been the whole world. "Woah, look, Wren."

"I'm looking."

I took a deep breath and yowled, "This is my family's monster shell. No one else can have it! I am Shatter!"


	2. Monster Shells

**Chapter One**

**Monster Shells**

Wren and I grew quickly. I had always been bigger than her, but the difference was getting greater as we grew. Our parents started to teach us things we needed to know, how to hunt, how to fight, how to live. We went on long walks, where our parents would point out important things like thunderpaths, live monsters, twolegs, and, the worse things, dogs.

One day, when we were six moons old, when Willow was sleeping and our father was out hunting, I made a decision.

"Wren," I meowed.

"What, Shatter?"

"Let's go exploring by ourselves!" I exclaimed.

Wren shook her head. "No. That's dumb, Shatter."

"No its not, Wren! We'll have so much fun, and we can even catch some food!"

"Not enough food for us and mama and papa."

"Well... yeah, but still. They'll be so proud! Come on Wren."

Wren sighed, "Well... all right, Shatter." She stood up and walked over to me. "But, if we get in trouble, I'm going to be so angry at you."

"I'll tell them that it was my idea," I promised.

"Oh, well, in that case..." Wren poked my shoulder. "You're it!" she ran off before I had even understood what happened.

"Wren!" I yowled. Purring, I chased after her.

I caught up with her quickly, and pounced onto her back. We rolled over a couple of times before coming to a stop with Wren pinning my down. "I win, Shatter."

I wriggled out from under her and looked around. "Wow, Wren, look at all these dead monsters!" There were piles of them all around us. "We've never been here before."

Wren shook her head, "No, 'cause usually when we go out with mama and papa we go the other way, towards the thunderpath. We don't come back here."

"But there's so much to do here!" I ran up to one of the monster shells. "I found a hole, Wren!" I squeezed through the hole and found myself inside the dead monster. It was much bigger than the one we lived it.

"Shatter?" Wren meowed from outside. "What hole?"

I stuck my head out of the monster. "Here, Wren."

"Oh..." Wren walked over to the hole and squeezed through it. "Wow, this is huge."

I nodded. "Its amazing. Come on!" I ran to the other side of the monster, where I could make out a dark tunnel. "Look at this!"

Wren padded up beside me. "Shatter... we're in a dead monster, right? Well, do you think, when we died, things live in us?"

I flicked her with my tail. "Don't be silly, Wren, we're not big enough to live in."

"A mouse could live in us."

"Only one. Mice lives in groups, though," I pointed out.

Wren looked thoughtful, then she nodded. "Yeah... I guess so."

"Let's go in here," I meowed, staring into the tunnel. "Where do you think it goes?"

Wren shrugged. "I don't know, Shatter. But I think you're too big."

"No, I'll fit."

"No," Wren meowed, pushing me out of the way. "_I'll_ fit. Stay here."

I watched as my sister crouched and pulled herself into the tunnel. Soon, even her long tail had disappeared into the darkness. "Wren!" I called.

"Wait, Shatter, I'm almost there... Oh! Shatter, its a cave!"

"A cave?"

"Its made of dead mo-" I heard her hiss.

"Wren? Are you all right?"

"I just pricked my paw," she replied. "These monster shells are sharp. I'm coming back, Shatter."

"All right." A moment later, she was pulling herself out of the tunnel. I sniffed her paw, "Let me see."

She sat down and turned it over. "Just a little prick on my pad."

I licked it, "There, all better."

Wren purred, "Thanks, Shatter." Then she stood up. "Let's get out of these monsters." She padded over to the hole and stepped out into the sunshine. I followed her. We walked between the huge piles of monsters.

"What about bugs?" Wren suddenly meowed.

"What about bugs?" I asked.

"Could they live in us?"

"Um... I guess so... Let's play a game, Wren!" I ran away from her than turned around to face her and crouched. "Grrr. I'm a dog. I'm going to eat you!"

Wren shook her head. "No you're not. I'm going to eat you!"  
"Cat's don't eat dogs."

"Most cats don't," Wren agreed. "But I'm a super cat! I eat dogs all the time!" she hissed playfully and ran towards me.

I pretended to growl again and got myself ready for her attack, when I noticed something behind her. I stood up and stared over her shoulder.

Wren came to a stop right before she hit me. "What are you doing, Shatter? Do you want me to eat you?"

"There are eyes in the monster shells." I meowed.

"What do you mean?" Wren spun around, I heard her gasp and knew she had seen the same thing I did. Glowing eyes were appearing in all the dark shadows and holes in the piles of monster shells.

"Run," I hissed at my sister. When she shook her head, I hissed again, "Run, Wren. I'm going to follow you." On hearing that I'd follow, she turned around and ran away from the eyes. A moment later, I followed her. I adjusted my pace so that I'd stay a taillength behind her. There was no way I'd let those eyes get near her!

We turned a corner and suddenly Wren stopped running. It was so unexpected that I almost ran into her, but managed to stop just in time. In front of us was a large brown cat.

"Where're you two off to in such a hurry?" he meowed.

"There were eyes..." Wren meowed quietly.

"Rats, you mean?" the tom meowed. "Good thing you ran away, those rats would've eaten up two little kits like you."

"We're not kits," I meowed bravely.

The tom looked at me. "No, I guess you aren't. Hey... you two look a lot like Shard. Are you his kits?"

I nodded.

"I haven't seen Shard in moons, or his pretty mate... Willow, right?" When I nodded, he carried on. "Must've been busy with you two... I'll take you home, shall I? Rats will be less likely to bother me."

I glanced at Wren, and then nodded for the third time. "Yes... thank you."

"No problem," the tom meowed. "It'll be nice to see your parents again. Let's go... oh, by the way, m'name's Bear."


	3. Catastrophe

**Chapter Two**

**Catastrophe**

Bear was right. The rats didn't bother us again. I would never admit it out loud, but I was glad the older cat was with us. As we walked through the monster graveyard (as Bear called it), he told us stories about how he and our father had been close friends when they were kits. In return, Wren and I told him stories about our adventures. Of course, we hadn't had many, but Bear seemed to be fascinated. By the time our monster shell came into view, I had decided that I liked the tom... and I could tell that Wren adored him.

"- and Shatter screeched so loudly you'd think that he'd seen a live monster!"

Bear purred and cast me an amazed glance, "That afraid of a spider?"

"It surprised me," I muttered. Of course Wren would tell _that_ story. Suddenly, Bear stopped walking. I paused as well, and it took Wren a moment to realize that we had both stopped.

She glanced back at us and tipped her head in question, "What?"

"Shh," Bear murmured. "Come here."

Something in his meow convinced Wren to return to his side. I even edged closer.

Bear was scenting the air. I imitated him, but I couldn't smell anything that would worry him. As I was trying to find the scent that he had found, Bear gently but firmly pushed Wren behind a pile of black monster feet. "Stay here," he hissed at her. "Shatter, get over here." I abandoned my sniffing to walk over to them. Bear nudged me beside my sister. "Stay here," he meowed again. Before I could ask what was going on, he had padded away towards our monster shell.

"What's going on, Shatter?" Wren mewed quietly.

I shrugged. "I'm going to go find out. Stay here."

Wren stepped in front of me. "No, Shatter. Bear said we have to stay here."

"Don't you want to know what's going on?" I asked. "I'll protect you, Wren."

That got to her. "I don't need your protection," she meowed. "In fact, I'm going first." She dropped into a crouch and crept around the pile of monster feet. I sighed and followed her.

(***)

"Who are you?"

"M'name's Bear."

"Bear? Well, Bear, do you know who I am?"

"You specifically, no. But I know your scent."

"Good, you should."

"What quarrel did your leader have with Shard and Willow?"

"Willow? Is that the pretty Queen's name? Our leader had no quarrel with her. But Shard... we came to settle a debt, I will say no more."

"Settle a debt? By killing him?"

"Him and his pretty mate... though I'd have liked to take her to my den first..."

I heard Bear hiss. Beside me, Wren trembled. I was frozen with shock, and grief. Dead? Our parents were dead? But only that day, our mother had been sleeping peacefully, our father had been out hunting. Everything had been so- Suddenly, I felt Wren move beside me.

"No, Wren-" I tried to stop her from running, and in the process made us roll into the pile of pieces of monster shells we had been hiding behind. The delicate tower fell over with a loud banging sound that echoed around the monster graveyard.

A large black cat appeared in front of us. "Well well, who would have thought that there'd be kits?"

I got up and tried to place myself protectively in front of Wren, but she was just as determined to stand beside me. I thought, for sure, that the huge cat would kill us like he had our parents, but just as he reached out his paw, Bear's brown body came in between us.

"You will not hurt these kits," he hissed.

"I will kill them, I'm on orders to destroy Shard's family, and that includes his kits."

"They aren't Shard's kits," Bear hissed. "They are mine."

"Oh really?' the black cat meowed sarcastically. "Tell me, Bear, why do your kits look so much like Shard? His fur is quite unique, and you... well, you're simply brown."

"My kits take after their mother," Bear lied. "She was Shard's sister."

"Shard doesn't have a sister," Another huge cat, a bluish gray tom, joined the black one.

"No, not anymore," Bear agreed. "She died. Many moons ago."

The two big toms exchanged a glance. "Very well," the black one meowed. "You and... your kits... can leave. But we will speak to our leader, and if we find that Shard had no sister, we will hunt you and these two kits down."

Bear turned to us. "Come, Silver, Feather... let's go." Wren pressed herself against his side and followed him away, but I paused for a moment and stared at the two toms. "Silver," Bear meowed loudly. "Come." I turned away from the toms and ran after Bear and my sister.

(***)

"Who were those cats? Why did they... why would they hurt our parents? What did our father do?"

"I don't know, Shatter. I don't know what Shard did," Bear meowed. His blue eyes were watching me pace back and forth. Beside him Wren crouched, picking miserably at a mouse Bear had caught for her. She was almost hidden by his long fur.

"Who were those cats?" I repeated. "Bear, please... you said you knew their scent."

Bear sighed. "There's a cat... we call him Terror. He likes to think that he controls the monster graveyard, and the land around it. He's a terrible, violent cat... but usually he doesn't bother with cats like us. Whatever your father did to make him angry... I don't know. But he sent those two cats to get revenge. I'm sorry... Shatter, that I can't tell you more."

I stared at the ground for a moment. "Bear... thank you for saving us. And making up that story about how our father's sister was your mate and that's why we look like we do... thank you. That was amazing, to think of that so quickly."

"Shard's sister was my mate, Shatter," Bear meowed. "Moons before you were born. Moons before your father met your mother. She got sick, though. And I lost her..."

"Oh..." I meowed quietly. "But, Bear... are those cats going to come after us?"

"Terror will know that Shard had a sister... and there will be no way to prove that you two aren't her kits."

Wren spoke up quietly, "Bear, can we live with you? Will you protect us?"

Bear nodded, "I wouldn't let you leave me, not after that. You've never met other cats, have you?" I shook my head. "Good. We'll tell cats that you are mine. And... now that I've given you names in front of those toms, we should probably stick to them. Sorry about that, I was worried about using your true names."

"We don't mind..." I meowed. "I don't mind anything, Bear... as long as Wr-Feather is safe."

Wren glanced up at me. "You've go to be safe too, Shatter."

"Silver," I corrected gently.


	4. Escape

**Chapter Three**

**Escape**

"You caught that?"

Wren nodded and dropped the large rat at my feet. "And that means that I win," she purred.

"She's right," Bear called over to us.

"But I caught more," I complained.

"My rat is bigger," Wren meowed.

"Oh yeah?" I pounced on her playfully. "Beat me now!"

Wren wriggled out from underneath me. "You may be big and fat, but I'm faster," She turned around and ran towards Bear. I started to follow her, but we both froze when we saw a sandy coloured cat walk around a bunch of dead monster shells.

Bear stood up. "Sandy?"

"Bear," she meowed. "Those two huge toms, the one's you said killed..." she trailed off and glanced over at us quickly. "They've been asking about you, Bear, and the kits. They found out about Shale, and how she died moons before these two were born, so they know you were lying about them being yours. They're trying to find you... you have to leave."

For a moment Bear was silent. "You're right... thank you for telling me..."

Sandy touched his side with her nose, "You've been a good friend, Bear. I'll miss you."

"I'll miss you too..." Bear glanced at his den, the one he had shared with us for just over a moon. "Good bye."

"Good luck," Sandy meowed. She looked over at us. "Good luck," she repeated.

(***)

"Go," Bear hissed.

I ran across the clearing with Wren at my side. We reached the other side and ducked behind a monster shell. Bear joined us within seconds.

"Did he see us?" Wren meowed.

Bear shook his head. "No. Go, Shatter," he meowed to me, since I was in the lead.

I began to creep forward. It was good to hear my name again, after a moon of being called Silver. Bear had started using out real names again, now that we had been discovered anyway. It seemed like we had been creeping through the monster graveyard for moons.

We reached the end of the pile and all stopped walking. Bear stepped up beside me and looked quickly looked around the clearing. "All right, go," he meowed. The three of us ran together to the other side and into another pile of monster pieces.

"How many more..." Wren complained.

"We're almost out," Bear promised. "Keep going, Shatter."

I nodded and started forward yet again. I tried to find tunnels that I knew Bear would fit through. I was almost the same size as him, and I was pretty sure that the only reason he was still bigger was because of his long fur. We reached the end of that pile, and this time when we looked out we could see a thunderpath, and live monsters, and twolegs. We were almost out. "Go," Bear meowed. "Run for it. Once we're out, they'll stop following us."

"Fast as you can, Wren," I meowed.

She nodded. "Fast as I can."

We started running at the same time, but Wren quickly gained and soon was at least a taillength ahead of me. Just as I had gotten bigger, Wren had gotten sleeker and quicker. She was much faster than me. I was watching her get farther and farther ahead of me, and closer and closer to the huge walls that we had to pass. Then suddenly, something hit me.

I rolled over and was up on my feet again before the huge black cat could dig his claws into my side. He lunged towards me, and I lashed out at his face in response. I heard Bear hissing and out of the corner of my eye saw him fighting the huge bluish gray cat. I felt claws dig into my left foreleg, and I yowled in pain as they tore down my leg. I pulled away and felt the claws rip out of my leg, then, hissing, I threw myself onto the tom.

I'm not sure quite what I did, but the black cat was soon limping away. I turned my attention to Bear and the gray cat. With a hiss I threw myself into that battle. Bear and I quickly beat back the huge tom. Then, we turned together and ran out of the monster graveyard, to where Wren was waiting for us.


	5. Farewell

**Chapter Four**

**Farewell**

"Shatter, stop it. You're hurt."

"I'm fine," I hissed under my breath, and I kept walked despite her order. Bear and Wren followed me as I led us as far away from the monster graveyard as I could.

"Shatter."

"I'm fine," I replied, once again.

"Wren," Bear spoke up, "Your brother's a born fighter. I've never seen a cat pick it up that quickly, let alone beat off two full grown, killer toms."

I paused at that and glanced back at him. "I didn't do it myself, Bear. You fought off that grey one. I just helped a bit."

Bear purred, "A bit? Shatter, I was losing. You're amazing."

"It's because he's so fat and stubborn," I heard Wren mutter.

"I'm not f-"

"No, you're just stubborn, now, sit down," Wren ordered. This time, I did what I was told with a sigh. Wren inspected my shoulder. "They don't look too bad."

"Exactly, I'm fine."

Bear glanced at my wound over Wren's head. "They'll heal. But you'll be scarred."

I shrugged.

Bear shook his head at me, then meowed "All right, Wren, let's try to find somewhere to spend the night? Fighter can find us some food."

"What happened to Silver?" I meowed.

"I decided that Fighter suits you much better," Bear explained.

"All right then, Fluff, I'll go hunting."

Bear purred again, "Very clever."

"I thought so," I meowed. I stood up and walked away to find something for us to eat.

(***)

When I returned with two rats, Bear was gone. I dropped my rats at Wren's feet. "Where is he?"

"In the den," She meowed. "Come on," she picked up one of the rats and led me away. After a few turns and a walk part of couple of twoleg nests, we found Bear under a twoleg wooden platform.

"Nice catch, Fighter," he meowed.

I dropped the rat. "Thanks, Fluff." Wren and I sat beside Bear, and we all ate our fill. After we had eaten, Bear curled up and fell fast asleep. I started lazily licking the dried blood from my shoulder.

"Shatter?"

"What?" I meowed in between licks.

"Bear's hurt too, you know. It's not like you, though, it's not a cut. I don't know what it is, and he tried to hide it, but I noticed."

"He..." I trailed off and glanced at her, then at Bear. "Are you sure, Wren? He seemed perfectly fi-"

"You're an unobservant fur ball, Shatter." Wren hissed.

"All right..." I meowed quietly. "All right, sorry. What are we supposed to do?"

"I don't know," Wren meowed, calming down as quickly as she had gotten angry. She yawned, and then added, "We should try to talk to him about it."

"You should go to sleep," I corrected.

"Shatter."

"Wren," I replied.

"Fine..." she lowered her head. "Fine. You get some sleep too."

"Of course, Wren."

(***)

I was woken up by what sounded almost like thunder. I tried to get to my feet, but Bear hissed at me to stop.

"Its just a twoleg," he meowed. "On the platform above us. Stay quiet and it'll never know we're here."

I lowered myself back down. "There hasn't been a twoleg up there for days... Can't it smell us?"

Bear shook his head. "Twolegs are stupid, Shatter. They don't know how to smell for things."

When the sounds finally stopped, Bear meowed. "All right, I think we've stayed here long enough. Let's get out of here." I stood up and led the way out from under the platform. Before stepping out, I quickly glanced around and could see no twolegs. So I left the shelter of the platform, Bear and Wren following me. We were halfway across the grass clearing when suddenly a twoleg came into view and closed a huge flat tree.

"We're trapped!" Wren meowed loudly. "Follow me." She bolted past me, straight towards the wall of flat trees. She must have seen a hole, so I ran after her with Bear right beside me. Then, Wren jumped.

It was the highest jump I had ever seen, landing her right on top of the wall. I came to a stop. "Wren, I can't do that."

"Neither can I," Bear added.

"Yes you-" Wren's eyes suddenly flicked to something behind us. Bear and I spun around to face the twoleg. I placed myself a step in front of Bear and hissed at the twoleg.

It crouched and held a paw towards us.

"Go away," I hissed again, arching my back.

Another twoleg walked out of the den and joined the first one. It also crouched and put something that looked like a flat white rock on the ground. The two twolegs then backed up and sat down on the wooden platform.

"Shatter, Bear, come on," Wren meowed from the top of the wall.

"Wait..." Bear walked cautiously towards the white rock. "This is food."

"Don't, Bear, wait."  
"Calm down, Shatter," Bear meowed. "I used to belong to twolegs, back before I met your father and Shale. This is food. These are good twolegs."

"Good twolegs? There's no such thing, Bear," Wren called.

Bear flicked her tail at her. "Yes there are." He had reached the white rock, and he sniffed the stuff on it. Then he licked it. "This is good food."

"Bear, the twolegs!" I meowed loudly. The smaller one had moved forward. Bear raised his head and stared at it. It moved slowly forward, then 0placed its paw on his head. "Bear," I started to go forward, fully prepared to attack the twoleg, but a sound stopped me. It was Bear purring.

I froze. "Bear, we have to go."

There was a long moment of silence before Bear turned to look at me. "Shatter..." he glanced up and Wren, "Wren. These are good twolegs, I can tell. We could live with them and be safe."

I shook my head, and behind me I heard Wren meow "We can't, Bear."

"Well..." Bear glanced down at his paws for a moment. "I... I think I'll stay with them." He ignored our meows of protest and continued. "Its not because I don't care for you. I couldn't care more about you two if you were my own kits. But I'm sick. I can feel it. I... something tells me that these twolegs will be able to help me."

"But... what about us, Bear?"

"You're more than capable of taking care of yourselves," Bear pointed out. "I would be very happy if you chose to stay with me, but I understand if you feel the need to move on."

Suddenly Wren was standing beside me. "Bear... we'll miss you." She walked over to him and pressed her head against his side. "Thank you for everything, Bear..."

Bear licked her forehead. "I'll miss you too, Wren, but I feel like we'll meet again someday."

I walked up to join them, watching the twolegs carefully. "Goodbye, Fluff," I meowed.

Bear purred. "Goodbye, Fighter. You've grown so much since I first met you... both of you have. Take care of yourselves."

"I'll protect her."

"I don't need any protecting," Wren protested. She touched Bear's shoulder one last time, then turned and walked back to the wall, where she repeated the huge leap that landed her on the top. "Come on, Shatter."

I ran to the wall, got ready, and then jumped. My jump was nowhere near as graceful as Wren's. I had to pull myself up the last bit by my front paws. Once I was on top of the wall, Wren and I glanced back at Bear one last time, to see that the smaller twoleg was gently picking him up.

For once, it was Wren who led us away.


	6. Fox

**Chapter Five**

**Fox**

Wren and I were alone, for the first time in our lives.

It had been almost a moon, and I still had trouble believing it.

I had no idea where we were going, and neither did Wren. We were just walking. Every day we walked farther and farther from the place we had grown up in. Which wasn't a problem. I wanted to be as far away from that place and those murdering cats as possible. But Bear, leaving Bear was different. He had seemed pretty sure that he'd be safe with the twolegs. Wren had agreed. So I forced myself to believe them.

We had met few troubles on our journey. All we'd really had to deal with was live monsters and a cat who had tried to chase us away from his twoleg nest. Not that he'd managed. All I had had to do was hiss and flick my tail a couple of times, and he was off. It had been easy.

Wren was walking ahead of me. Occasionally she'd pause and glance back, to make sure I was still following. It was one of those times, one of those quick moments when she wasn't paying attention to what was in front of her, that she was attacked.

A huge dog leapt out of the bushes and picked her up in its jaws. I heard Wren yowl in terror, but she sounded strangely faint and distant. I rushed forward, cursing myself for letting her get so far ahead. I jumped at the dog's shoulder once I got close enough, and dug my claws in. I felt it jerk in surprise, and saw it drop Wren.

She fell to the ground with a quiet thump, and didn't move.

The dog turned its head to snap at me, forcing me to jump off its shoulder. I tried to duck around it and get to Wren, but another dog had appeared. Smaller than the first, nearly the same size as me, and much more annoying.

It pranced around, trying to nip at my tail as the larger dog moved towards Wren again. Instinctively, I spun around and lashed out at its nose, causing it yelp and run off. I turned, ready to attack the larger dog again. It had closed in on Wren, and was nudging her with its nose. I started to move towards it.

Pain suddenly burst in my shoulder. I could imagine my three long scars, seemingly healed, ripping open. I stumbled.

The dog was getting ready to pick Wren up again. I hissed at it angrily and I struggled to my feet, hoping to draw its attention. But it didn't care about me, it only care about my sister's body.

Something red brushed past me. For a moment, I thought it might be the little yappy dog returning, but when it stopped running to strike at the large dog's head, I saw what it really was. A red tabby tom, bigger than Wren but still smaller than me. He slashed at the dog's face, over and over again, swiftly ducking out of the way of its snapping jaws between each swipe. I got over my surprised and, ignoring the pain in my shoulder, threw myself back into the fight. I attacked both the dogs right legs as I moved up to join the red tabby.

The dog took a step back and regarded both of us, as we stood side by side in front of Wren. It seemed to decide that fighting us wasn't worth getting to her. It growled at us one last time, then turned and walked off as if it had forgotten all about us.

I turned to Wren instantly. She was breathing faintly, I could see her side rising and falling. She seemed unhurt, a few scratches from the dog's teeth.

"You're welcome."

I pulled my gaze from Wren's body in order to meet the red tabby's bright green eyes. "I didn't ask for help." I didn't mean to sound ungrateful, I knew I would have lost Wren if it wasn't for his arrival. But I didn't want to admit it.

He shrugged. "That doesn't mean that you didn't need it. Personally, I think we made quiet a good team. Now, maybe we should move her off the thunderpath? Monster's don't come 'round here too often, but if one does, it'll flatten her." He took a step towards Wren, and then paused as if waiting for my approval.

I nodded. "Then we should move her." I agreed.

Together, we half lifted/half rolled Wren to the ditch at the edge of the thunderpath, where we managed to tuck her safely against a twoleg wall.

"She'll be all right," the tom meowed. "Hit her head when she fell, that's why she's asleep. But she'll be all right... I'm Fox, by the way."

"Shatter," I replied, then I nodded towards Wren, "My sister, Wren."

"Pleasure to meet you both," Fox meowed. "How 'bout you stay here with her, and I'll go find us something to eat." He didn't wait for me to reply, just jumped up onto the wall and disappeared.

I sighed, settled myself down next to Wren, and started to lick her wounds.


	7. Storytelling

**Chapter Six**

**Storytelling**

Fox and I took turns hunting. At first, I was nervous about leaving my sister with a tom I had just met. So nervous that I hid and watched him a couple of times, to see what he did. But the tom simply lay down beside Wren and occasionally licked her wounds.

"Where'd you two come from, anyway?" Fox meowed once as I was returning with a large rabbit I had caught trying to hide under a twoleg platform. He was stretched out in a patch of sunlight, a taillength away from Wren. I dropped the rabbit in front of him.

"A monster graveyard," I meowed as I sat down beside him.

His green eyes widened. "Why would you want to be in a monster graveyard? The only one I've heard about is filled with horrible, vicious, killer ca-"  
"We were born there."

"Oh... so... why'd you leave, then?"

I quickly explained everything that had happened to me and Wren after our first meeting with Bear. I told him about our parents' deaths, our living with Bear and changing our names, our escape from the graveyard, leaving Bear with the twolegs, and finally the moon we had spent walking aimlessly.

Fox swallowed a mouthful of rabbit. "So you don't know where you're going, then?"

"We just trying to get away," I meowed. I bit off a piece of rabbit, chewed, and swallowed. "What about you, Fox?"

"Me? I... well... my father was a kittypet. My mother was a rogue. Apparently they met while my father was out exploring. I was born with two sisters and a brother. They all died. First my youngest sister, Snow, got sick. Then Wolf, my brother, picked a fight with a couple of older rogues and was killed. Then Blossom, my other sister, was killed when a twoleg threw a rock at her. My mother thought she was cursed... she drove me out, saying that she'd rather imagine that I survived then see how I'd die."

"Fox... I'm sorry."

He shrugged and grabbed another mouthful of rabbit before continuing, "That was many moons ago, and I'm still here. So I guess there was no curse... or maybe there was, and it's stuck to my mother instead of following me. I don't know. I hope I'm not cursed..."

I glanced at Wren, "I think, Fox, if you were cursed, you wouldn't have made it in time to help me save Wren."

"Hey, that's true." He leaned over a head-butted my shoulder gently. "Thanks, Shatter."

(***)

The next time I returned from hunting I was carrying a small bird. I could hardly see due to feathers in my face, so I found my way back mostly by memory. When I dropped the bird, I could see Fox curled up, fast asleep. And beside him...

A dent in the grass where Wren should have been.

"Wr-"

Suddenly I was pushed over and felt paws on my side. "I win, Shatter."

"Wren? What are you doing? You should be resting." I got to my feet. "Do you feel all right? How are your cuts?"

"I'm fine, Shatter. I'm just hungry, that's all..." she glanced at the bird. "Oh, thanks, Shatter." She lay down and began to gnaw away at the bird. "So," she meowed in between bites. "Who's he?" she pointed at Fox with her tail. "I woke up and saw him, and I scented you, so I knew you and him were together, somehow. So... who is he?"

"His name's Fox," I explained. "He helped me fight off those two dogs that attacked you."

"Two? I remember one..." she shuddered. "It picked me up..."

I nodded. "The other one was much smaller, luckily. I chased that one off myself. But I did something to my shoulder... almost felt like I was ripping open my scars. And, well... I needed help with the second dog. Fox showed up, and I guess it didn't want to fight both of us at once."

"Your shoulder?"

"I'm all right, now. It was just really sharp pain for a little while." I looked over at Fox. "I should wake him up, so he can meet you."

"Do you have to?" Wren meowed. "He's quite cute curled up like that."

I glanced at her for a moment, and then meowed loudly. "Fox!"

Fox jerked his head up. "What? What's goin- oh... hello."

"Hello," Wren purred in reply.

"So you're... you're all right?"

"Fine, thanks to you, I hear."

"I fought the dog too, Wren." I meowed.

"Yes, Shatter. I know."


	8. Comradeship

**Chapter Seven**

**Comradeship**

Fox joined us on our aimless journey.

I had finally convinced Wren that it was time to go, and we left Fox behind. It wasn't until we settled down the next night that he caught up with us, carrying a couple of mice which he dropped in front of me. "May I join you?"

"Yes," Wren meowed before I could reply.

Fox nodded at her, but turned his green eyes back to me. He had asked me, he was waiting for my response. He knew that if I didn't want him around, there was no way he'd be joining us.

I liked Fox, and I did owe him for saving Wren's life. "Of course." I meowed finally.

(***)

I felt slightly like we were replacing Bear with Fox, but over a few days of thinking about it, I realized that it wasn't true. Bear had been like our father, for short period of time, whereas Fox was joining us as a friend... maybe more, in Wren's case.

I saw the way they looked at each other. I heard the way they spoke to each other. Fox was wary of me, at first, either not talking to Wren when I was around or talking very little. He was good to be wary, Wren was my sister after all, and I'd fight to the death to protect her.

But as a moon passed, and I grew to like and trust Fox more, I found the way they tried to hide their affection for each other from me very amusing. Sometimes they would be talking quietly while they thought I was asleep, and I found it very difficult not to startle them with a sarcastic comment. Though once, when a conversation was going where I didn't want it to go, I open my eyes and stared at Wren until she noticed. They rarely ever spoke about such things around me again.

(***)

As we walked, I trailed behind Fox and Wren as I usually did.

"Shatter!"

I was shaken out of my thoughts by Wren's cry, glancing up, I saw that she and Fox had paused and were staring back at me.

"Shatter, you slow hedgehog. Come on."

I didn't even know what a hedgehog was! Neither did Wren. It was an expression she had picked up from Fox. "I _am_ coming."

"Yes, but it will be halfway through the next moon before you catch up with us."

I flicked my tail in annoyance. Suddenly, I rushed at Wren, pinning her down before she had a chance to try to get away. "I win, Wren."

She purred, "Get off me, you fat furball."

I allowed her to get to her feet. "All right, I'm here. What do you want?"

"Flare says he's been here before, and there's a good place we can rest a couple of days nearby."

"There's lot's a prey," Fox added. "And we might get to see a hedgehog."

"A hedgehog?" Wren meowed. "Shatter, what do you say, can we go there?"

I sighed, then glanced at Fox. "Lead the way, _Flare_." I meowed; sarcastically using the nickname Wren had given him. He stared at me for a moment, and then walked off.

Before following him, Wren glanced at me. "Why are you such a grumpy furball?" she didn't wait for my reply.

(***)

"Shatter?"

I yawned and opened my eyes. It was dark. I could see Wren, curled up safely in her nest. Then I saw Fox. His head was up, and he was staring at me. "What?"

"Why don't you like me?"

I sighed. "I do like you."

Fox glanced quickly at Wren, then back at me. "But you don't like me with Wren?"

"She's my sister, Fox, I believe I have the right to be a little protective."

"So you're not mad at me for liking her?"

"No," I meowed. "No, I'm not. I'm worried. I'll get over it." I lay my head back down and closed my eyes. I heard Fox purr.

"I can deal with that," he meowed, sounding pleased.

(***)

The next morning, when I woke up, Fox and Wren were gone, but their was a squirrel lying in front of me that I could tell had come from him. I ate it quickly, all the while wondering where they had gone. I was almost done with a heard an excited meow followed by Wren calling me.

I followed her voice until I found the two of them crouched side by side staring at what looked like a giant moving burr.

"What is that?" I meowed.

"A hedgehog," Wren purred. "Look at it, Shatter. Can you imagine if we had spikes like that? No dog would ever bother us."

"No dog will ever bother you with me and Shatter around," Fox pointed out. "I know you didn't see it last time, Wren, but we make a good team." He glanced over her back at me.

I nodded. "We do make a good team," I agreed.


	9. Near Future

**Chapter Eight**

**Near Future**

And so we carried on.

After spending a few days in the little clearing Fox had shown us, we moved on. As I told Fox, I quickly got over my worry. I still felt that I was Wren's protector, but I accepted that Fox was her protector just as much as I was. He became a great friend. A great companion. And as our friendship grew, I noticed things. Like the habit Fox had of gently head-butting my shoulder after a good hunt. And how he and Wren no longer tried to hide their communal affection from me.

We were rarely bothered as we traveled through the twoleg's land. Dogs would bark at us, twolegs would look at us. There was one time when we were confronted by a group of cats only a few cats bigger than ours, but Fox and I managed to scare off most of them. Wren claimed to have helped, by fighting off one of the cats herself, but neither of us saw her.

(**)

I leapt, pinning the rabbit beneath me and taking its life with a quick bite to its neck. It was a young one, but still big enough to feed the three of us, especially if Wren and Fox caught something as well.

"That was an impressive catch."

I raised my head to see a black and white cat staring at me from a wooden platform.

"Thanks," I sensed that she wasn't a threat, so I picked up the rabbit and started to turn away.

"You now, this is my twoleg's land. So isn't that my rabbit?" the cat meowed.

I put the rabbit back down. "Last time I checked, prey belongs to the cat who caught it."

She seemed to think about that for a moment. "I guess so. I don't know what I'd do with it, anyway. And I certainly wouldn't want to fight you for it. Not that I can't fight, mind you... just, you're bigger than me." She trailed off and I almost picked the rabbit back up before she meowed again, "Where do you live? Maybe I could visit you."

"I'm just passing through."

"Oh. So you don't have a twoleg?"

I shook my head.

"Maybe you should get one. They're good to have."

Again I shook my head. "No, we're just heading through this area, and hoping to find somewhere with no twolegs."

"No twolegs? Well... not far from here the twoleg land stops. And then there are big huge fields. I've seen them, but I've never been in them. That's too scary. But there's a twoleg land on the other side of the fields, I've seen that, too, from the highest point on my nest." She glanced quickly at the twoleg den behind her, then back at me. Her eyes were suddenly wide with alarm. "But don't go there, to the other twoleg place. Cats come through here all the time, fleeing from that place."

"Why?"

"There's a group of cats there... called... well, I don't remember, but they call themselves a clan. And they're terrible. The hurt cats who don't belong to them, and..." she trailed off. "Well... that's what I've heard."

"Oh. Thank you for warning me." I picked up my rabbit and quickly walked off before she could meow anything else.

(***)

I was comfortably stretched out in a patch of warm sunlight when Wren meowed, "I wish things could stay like this forever..."

I opened my eyes and looked at her, the world upside down because of the way I had tipped back my head to sprawl in the sunlight. She was also stretched out, though on her stomach. Fox lay beside her, gently licking her smooth fur. "Like what?" I meowed. "Lazily sleeping while someone else cleans you?" I teased.

Fox purred in amusement. Wren flicked her tail, but I could tell she was not really angry. "No, Shatter. I wish you would lie there looking dead forever."

I nodded – or tried to nod, finding it hard to actually do in my position. "Oh, that. Yes, well I can see how that would be appealing."

"I wish we could stay like this forever, I mean. This relaxed... nothing to worry about. No dogs, no twolegs, no other cats. Just the three of us. Our own little family... with nothing to worry about."

"Just the three of us?" I rolled over on my stomach and lay my head on my paws.

"Don't you think Shatter might get a little lonely," Fox purred. "When you and I have kits, Wren, an-"

"Hey, no talk of kits. Not around me," I interrupted. Which only resulted in Wren purring loudly.

"Jealous?'

"Never. Of course not. No." I meowed; I closed my eyes and hoped I'd fall asleep.

"Maybe you should ask that pretty white and black cat to come live with us," Fox teased.

"Didn't she tell you something about fields, Shatter?" Wren meowed.

I nodded. "She said that the twoleg land ends not far from here, and then there are fields." I paused for a moment and opened my eyes. "Wait, Wren? You want this, forever? Maybe we could find a place to live in the fields. Apparently not many cats go out there to stay, but I can imagine it would be full of prey. We would just have a find a good den."

"Yes," Wren agreed instantly. "Yes, let's try that. I'm sure we could find a den. What do you think, Flare?"

Fox nodded, "I think we-" suddenly he had stopped and was on his feet, staring into the bushes. I was on my feet in an instant, standing squarely in between Wren and Fox, and the strange rustling sounds we had all heard in the bushes.

What emerged, however, was not what I was most afraid of it being. A dog. Instead, a tabby she-cat stepped through the bushes, and then froze when she noticed me standing in front of her. Her green eyes met mine for a moment, but then they locked onto something behind me.

"Fox?" she quietly meowed.

I blinked in surprised and turned to look at my friend, who was staring at the she-cat.

"Mother?"


	10. The Curse

**Chapter Nine**

**The Curse**

"Fox? No... no, you're dead..." the she-cat took a step back, her eyes wide with shock. "You died."

Fox shook his head. "No, mother. I never died. I left."

"All my kits died," the she-cat hissed. "My four beautiful kits. Snow, Wolf, Blossom, Fox..." she stared down at the ground sadly.

"I'm not dead."

Suddenly, she was staring at Fox again. "You must be. You have to be. You all died. It was a curse. I shouldn't have had kits with a kittypet. He was weak, you were all too weak... you all died. I tried to protect you."

"Mo-"

"Quite," she hissed at him. "If you are not dead, then you're not my son. My sons died."

I started to talk at the same time Wren did. We glanced quickly at each other, then I fell silent and let Wren continue. "This is your son. He didn't die. There's no curse."

"Of course there's a curse," the she-cat hissed, I almost leapt forward to protect my sister, but managed to hold back. "If there wasn't a curse, why would my little Snow have gotten sick when I took care of her? Why would Wolf be killed by rogues, when all us rogues had an agreement to never hurt kits? Why would a twoleg thrown a rock at Blossom, so hard that it killed her? Why was my Fox crushed by a twoleg monster?"

I shivered unintentionally and glanced over at Fox to see that he had done the same. Crushed by a twoleg monster? Maybe it had happened, and he'd survived? But that didn't make sense. He was perfectly healthy, perfectly fit. There was nothing wrong with him. I couldn't help myself, I stepped towards his mother and in my most threatening voice meowed, "I think you need to leave now." I noticed that Wren had moved closer to Fox after the story of his apparent death. I had to protect them both from the crazy she-cat.

"You're traveling with a ghost," she told me. "Crushed by a twoleg monster, while he was crossing a thunderpath. I saw it happen. He was dead."

"Leave."

She stared at me for a moment, then turned and disappeared through the bushes.

(***)

"She's sick, Fox," Wren was murmuring quietly. "Of course that never happened. What happened to your sisters and brother was terrible, and in her mind she made up the story of what happened to you."

We had decided to leave that place. To head to the fields, where we would be safe. Wren and I walked on either side of Fox, whose head was drooped to the ground.

"I know," he meowed. "Still..."

Wren licked his shoulder. "I know."

We walked in silence for awhile. Then the twoleg dens stopped. In front of us were fields. Fox brightened immediately.

"That's amazing," Wren meowed. "We'll find a home there, for sure!"

"Can ghost cat's have homes?"

I spun around to see Fox's mother sitting on top of twoleg wall. I felt Fox stiffen at my side, but he didn't turn around. "You two go," I meowed, glanced at Wren. "I'll get rid of her and catch up."

Wren nodded, then gently prodded Fox's side. "Let's go, Flare."

I walked towards the twoleg wall and jumped up on top, hoping that the jump looked graceful, but knowing that it probably hadn't. I walked right up to Fox's mother. She was a small cat, I was surprised that she wasn't intimidated,

"Leave us alone."

"There is a curse," she meowed at me. "It clung to me, it killed my kits." She stared right at Wren and Fox, who were just disappearing behind a grassy hill. "You're traveling with a ghost."

"Fox is not a ghost. He's not dead." Then I heard a terrible sound, a loud screech, a thump, the roar of a twoleg monster.

"The curse..." Fox's mother murmured one last time.

Then, from the other side of the grassy hill, came a yowl of anguish. "No, no, no, no, no!"

I was off of the wall in a flash, I landed on the cool green grass, and I ran.


	11. Linger

**Chapter Ten**

**Linger**

When I crested the hill, I had a terrible thought. For a moment, I wished it had been Wren's yowl I had heard. Fox would have been the one hurt, in that case. I felt ashamed the moment I had the thought.

I found Fox trying to drag Wren's body away from the thunderpath. He froze when he saw me. "Shatter. She, I, we-"

"We need to get her away from here," I meowed. I was surprised at how strong my voice sounded. "Come on, Fox. We'll pick her up together." Wren looked terrible. I almost couldn't bear to look at her. "Fox?"

He nodded. Together, we got Wren onto our backs and walked away from the thunderpath, towards the fields.

(***)

We gently lay Wren in the shade of a large tree. Fox lay down next to her instantly. He began to lick her, frantically trying to clean the blood from her fur. I tried to tuck her legs up against her body, but one of them was so broken that I didn't want to touch it incase I hurt her.

"Shatter," Fox meowed. "You have to go hunt. If we get her some food, she'll be fine."

I nodded, but I knew that wasn't true. Wren's breathing was so shallow, her body so broken... I knew she was going to die. I almost collapsed. My little sister, I was supposed to protect her. If I had been with her, I could have pulled her out of the way. I didn't go hunting. I lay down on her other side and helped Fox clean away the blood.

(***)

I felt the vibration of a purr before I heard it. I pulled back, to see that Wren had opened her eyes and was staring at me.

"Wren."

"Shatter," she meowed weakly.

Fox had fallen into a fitful sleep beside us, but he woke up instantly at the sound of her voice. "Wren? You're all right?"

"No. I..." she trailed of weakly and closer her eyes.

"Wren. You were hit by a monster."

"I know," she meowed. "Flare's not hurt?"

"I'm fine, Wren."

Her purr became slightly louder. "Good."

"But Wren," I meowed brokenly. "You're-"

"I know, Shatter. I can feel it. I... I love you both."

"No Wren," Fox meowed quickly. "Don't say that, don't you're going to be fine."

Wren tried to shake her head, she opened her eyes and seemed to draw in strength. "No, Fox. I love you. Our kits would have been beautiful..." for a moment she seemed regretful, then the strange strength came back. "Shatter. I love you. I'll tell mom and dad all about how big and strong you've become... how good a leader you are. I'll..."

"Wren... you need to rest," I meowed.

"Look after each other," she meowed fiercely. "Look after each other, and have hope. Always have hope... I love you... I love you... I..." the strength was fading, she mumbled 'I love you' a few more times before falling silent.

(***)

Fox and I stayed awake, watching her fade. Her purr silenced, her breathing slowed down to nothing. And then she was gone.


	12. Silver Fighter

**Chapter Eleven**

**Silver Fighter**

Burying Wren was the hardest thing I've ever done in my life. Harder than learning about my parents' deaths, harder then fighting to leave the monster graveyard, harder than leaving Bear with the twolegs.

We lay side by side for a long time after burying her. I was the first to force myself to my feet. I left Fox where he was, sitting in front of the mound of dirt that covered my sister, and forced myself to go hunting. When I returned with a small mouse, he hadn't moved. I dropped the mouse in front of him and told him to eat it. Later, he went out hunting and brought a mouse back for me.

We hung around the area for a couple days, until we came to an unspoken agreement to move on. So we walked.

We walked away from the fields that were going to be our home. We walked away from the twolegplace where Fox's mother had made her terrible prediction. We walked away from Wren.

We walked away side by side. Brothers, just like Wren would have wanted.

(***)

The cat who attacked us regretted it.

I had so much pent-up anger, I just let it loose. The cat ran off pretty quickly after that. I stood in the alley and watched him run, so tense that I almost spun around and attacked Fox when he meowed.

"Oh, Shatter... now he'll come back with all his friends."

"Good. Let them come." I glanced over at him. "I can handle it."

He rolled his eyes. "Until you run out of energy."

"Doesn't happen."

It was about a moon after Wren's death. We hadn't forgotten her, we would never forget her. But we had other things to worry about. I kept remembering that kittypet who had warned me about an evil clan... she was right, it seemed. As Fox and I moved through the twolegplace, we were constantly attacked or threatened by other cats.

I was enjoying it, though. The fighting helped me to keep my mind off of Wren. But Fox was right, I was running out of steam. It was hard to find food in the twolegplace, so I'd had very little chance to recover from each fight.

At least, until then, the cats had only been attacking alone or in small groups. I felt like we hadn't yet reached the clan of cats that the kittypet had warned me about. But we were getting close.

It wasn't until the next day that we got 'too close'.

(***)

"What now, Shatter?" Fox hissed in my ear.

We were surrounded. I was pretty sure we could fight our way out, but Fox didn't seem to like that idea much. It was the most cats I'd ever had against me at once. At least seven, and I wouldn't have been surprised if there were more lurking in the shadows.

"Well, we could always kill them all?"

"I don't think so."

I flicked my tail, "Why not?"

"Why do you think?" Fox meowed. "I'm going to talk to that big one," he added. "I think he's the leader." he stepped forward before I could protest. "Is there a problem?"

The huge black and white cat, who was bigger than me, I'll admit, snarled. "You're in BloodClan territory."

"We're just traveling through," Fox meowed. "We'll gladly go around your clan's land if you'd show us to the border."

The cat shook his head. "Scourge wants to see you himself. He's heard tales of 'a silver spotted cat with unnatural strength'." he glanced over at me.

"It's all natural," I meowed. "I'm just a better fighter then all the cats who tried to attack us... and bigger, might I add."

"Shatter," Fox meowed under his breath. He turned back to the huge cat. "Shatter was just defending himself against the cats who attacked us," he meowed. "We didn't mean to seem like we were attacking your clan."

"Scourge wants to see you," the cat repeated. "And you'll come with us. Scourge gets what he wants."

(***)

I wasn't happy trailing after the huge cat. I wanted to leap up and attack him, but Fox's presence at my side stopped me. The cat, along with his six friends, led us through the twolegplace until we reached an alley that was filled with cats. A lot of them I recognized as cats I'd fought off.

"Can't you ever make friends?" Fox muttered.

I purred, dispite our predicament. "Making friends isn't what I do."

"Bone?"

The loud meow drew my attention away from Fox. I looked around for the cat who had meowed.

"Is this the silver fighter?"

This time a saw the cat as he spoke, and I almost yowled in shock. The cat was so tiny! A little black kitten. The huge cat in front of me nodded.

"This is him, Scourge." he stepped out of the way so that the little black cat could see me.

I glanced at the huge cat. "Really? Why don't you just step on him and take over?" the alley was suddenly filled with snarling cats.

The little cat approached me. "My clan didn't like that comment."

"Right..." I looked at Fox. He was also shocked about the clan's leader, he was just better at hiding it than I was.

"I've heard stories about you," the little cat meowed. "The silver fighter. At first I was going to sent Bone to dispose of you, but then I realized – you could be useful to me. So I'm going to give you a choice. Will you join BloodClan?"

I glanced at Fox to see his bright green eyes staring back at me.


	13. BloodClan

**Chapter Twelve**

**BloodClan**

The little cat saw my glance. "Of course, you will get to leave behind the burden of the red tabby."

My snarl drowned out Fox's. "If you want me, you want Fox. I am staying with him."

"My cats don't stay together," the little cat meowed. "BloodClan cats have only loyalty to their leader. They have no friends, no partners."

"I'm not a BloodClan cat," I pointed out with a hiss.

The little cat flicked his tail at two cats. "Ice, Snake, help the Silver Fighter with his decision and kill the red one." The two cats, one white and one brown, stalked towards us. Before they had even attacked, I had the tabby one pinned to the ground. He struggled for a moment, then stopped when I dug my claws into his shoulder.

The white cat froze. "Scourge-?"

The little cat hissed. "I said kill the red one."

"I'll kill any cat who touches Fox," I warned.

"I'm quite capable of defending myself," Fox meowed.

"Ice!" the little cat yowled suddenly. In response, the white cat flung himself at Fox. Fox stepped to the side just in time. Then he attacked.

I hadn't seen Fox fight since Wren died. Whereas I had become more temperamental and violent with the loss of my sister, Fox had become quieter. Now I saw all his anger flow out onto the white cat. After what seemed like only a few breaths, the white cat had backed away from Fox. The tabby squirmed out from under my paws to join him.

The little cat glared at his two toms. "Pathetic," he muttered. "But you've shown me one thing." he turned his eyes back on me and Fox. "The red one can fight."

"Oh, you are observant, aren't you?" I meowed. The huge cat, Bone, took a warning step towards me. I simply stared at him.

"I will extend my offer to join BloodClan to the tabby," the little cat meowed.

"I have a name," Fox pointed out. "And I'd prefer being called Fox as opposed to 'the red one'."

"Shatter," I added. "Not the silver fighter."

"Scourge will call you what he-"

"No," the little cat cut Bone off mid-sentence. "No, Bone. Names are good. Shatter, Fox, welcome to the Testing."

"The Testing?" I questioned.

"You can't just join BloodClan." the little cat meowed. "You need to prove yourself."

(***)

I must have been born to join BloodClan. I finished the Testing – which consisted mainly of showing off fighting skills – that very day. I even, at one point, leapt on the little cat and almost managed to beat him before his big bodyguard Bone pulled me away. Surprisingly, that only made the little cat – Scourge – like me more. It took Fox a little longer to complete the fighting component to the Testing, but he aced the hunting part.

The task for the hunting part was to bring enough food back to the alley to give Scourge, Bone, and another important cat named Brick a full meal. Whereas most cats found old twoleg food or crowfood, Fox and I brought back freshkill. Fox caught enough that he needed to bribe a younger BloodClan cat into helping him carry it all back to Scourge and his two enforcers.

So, having finished the Testing so quickly, Fox and I had already made names for ourselves on our first day as BloodClan cats.

(***)

I decided very quickly that I didn't like the way BloodClan was run. Such a small cat, ordering us around? I knew that if Fox and I had the chance to fight Scourge alone, we could beat him. Then what? Would Bone and Brick start to obey us? Would we lead BloodClan? I was almost tempted to find out.

But I made do with simply being annoying. Cats weren't allowed to have friends, so Fox and I made a point of sticking together. Cats were supposed to do whatever Scourge said – and therefore whatever Bone and Brick said, so Fox and I ignored them. Cats were supposed to make sure Scourge and his closest cats were fed the best food available, so Fox and I caught out own fresh kill and ate it all ourselves.

Scourge didn't like me, but he wanted me. I saw cats punished for lesser offenses than what Fox and I did, even though we were never touched. I took advantage of that fact, but I didn't understand it.

Not until moons after we had joined the clan.

* * *

For anyone reading this who is also reading Shattered Five, Star's chapter is up. **~Capitaine Jaf**


	14. Propositions

**Chapter Thirteen**

**Propositions**

"Shatter?"

"Hmm?" I replied. I glanced up from the mouse I had been eating.

"Who's that?"

I followed Fox's gaze. We were sitting on the top of one of the tinier twoleg nests. We often brought our food up here to eat. It gave us an excellent view of what was going on around us. Even better, Scourge didn't like it. Fox was staring at the greypath that ran beside the thunderpath in front of our perch. On it, two cats were walking. A grey one, and a larger tabby.

"I don't know."

"You don't recognize them?" Fox asked.

"No. Should I? I don't know half of the BloodClan cats."

"Come on, Shatter. Let's follow them." He got to his feet and started to pad across the twoleg nest toward our way down.

I sighed, grabbed another bite from my mouse, and followed him. It began to rain.

(***)

We followed the two strangers all the way to Scourge's alley, where they were met by Bone. The large cat stepped from the shadows. "Who goes there? Identify yourselves. We don't like strangers here."

I rolled my eyes. The way Bone tried to sound superior drove me crazy. We had caught up by then, so we stood a tail-length or two away from the three toms.

It was the grey cat who spoke. "Greetings, Bone. Remember me?"

I seriously doubted that Bone had the ability to remember any cat besides his precious Scourge, and I almost said so – but Fox seemed to know my intention and cuffed me with his paw.

"So you've come back, have you, Boulder? You told us you were going to find a better life in the forest. What are you doing here?" Bone glanced over at me, as if he blamed me for the appearance of the toms. Right. Clever Bone, he figured out my secret plan. I rolled my eyes.

"We want to see Scourge." Boulder meowed.

"I can't imagine that Scourge will want to see you. And who's this with you? I don't recognize him." Bone almost hissed.

For the first time the large tabby spoke. "My name is Tigerstar. I've come from the forest to speak with your leader."

"What do you want with him?" Bone asked.

"I'll discuss that with your leader, not his border patrol." The tabby meowed. Finally someone else stood up to Bone, I knew I couldn't be the only one.

"Scourge needs to hear this," Boulder added timidly. "It could be to every cat's advantage."

Bone paused for a moment, then stepped back to allow the cats past. Fox and I started after them, but Bone stopped us by stepping into our way.

"Where did they come from?" he meowed quietly.

I shrugged. Beside me, Fox meowed, "We just saw them walking and followed them, we don't know where they came from."

Bone glanced toward the two toms suspiciously. "Well, we'll soon find out what they want. Shatter, pay attention. Scourge's been looking for some cat to take on... a special position in the BloodClan ranks. If this meeting goes badly and Scourge gives the order to kill, make sure you take out the large one."

I stared into Bone's eyes. "Easily done. But why would I want this position?"

"Scourge puts up with you because he wants you in the position. If you refuse to take it, he'll have you killed."

"By who?" I purred. "Ice and Snake? I think we both know who'll be the dead cats if they try to kill me."

"You're very confident in your abilities, aren't you?" Bone asked. "That's why Scourge wants you for this position."

"We'll see," I meowed. I brushed past Bone. Fox followed me. We pushed our way through the cats in the alley until we had found a good place to sit in the front.

The two toms were sitting in the middle of the clearing, with Scourge standing in front of him. "You haven't come to extol the virtues of forest life," Scourge was meowing in that annoying voice of his. What kind of cat used words like extol, anyway? "Squirrels live in trees, not cats. So what do you want?"

The tabby got to his feet, probably to point out how much bigger he was than Scourge. I'd tried the same trick a couple of times. "I am Tigerstar, the leader of ShadowClan. And I have a proposition for you."

"A proposition? Carry on."

And the tabby did carry on. Just when I was beginning to hope that I'd found another cat who'd stand up to the authority. The tabby explained something about a forest and other clans. I had a hard time understanding, mostly because I wasn't paying attention. To make matters worse, it was still raining on us. I really wasn't fond of rain.

(***)

Unfortunately, Scourge didn't give the order to kill. The two toms were led from the alley. Fox and I were about to follow them when two of Scourge's favourite pets, a grey tom named Brick and a longhaired calico named Tear, approached us.

"Shatter, Scourge would like to speak with you."

"Of course he would," I muttered. "Flare, I'll meet you at the den," I meowed, unconsciously slipping into Wren's nickname for him, like I had started doing recently.

"Don't get yourself in too much trouble," Fox teased. He nodded respectfully at the two toms, and then went off on his own.

I turned and reluctantly followed Brick and Tear. They led me up to Scourge, who was still sitting where he had been when he had talked to TigerStar. They left me with him. I sat down without being invited to, and waited for Scourge to speak. No way was I going to give him a happy "You called, Sir?" like the rest of the BloodClan cats seemed to do.

"Shatter..." Scourge raised his head and our eyes met. "I have a proposition for you."

Again with that word!

"So I've been told."


	15. His Plan

Woah, sorry about not updating in so long. Major writer's block combined with starting university just killed my ability to write anything. Anyway, hopefully I'll be able to update more often now that I've gotten back into it. **~ Capitaine Jaf**

* * *

**Chapter Fourteen**

**His Plan**

"So, what did he want?" Fox's bright green eyes followed me as I paced back and forth.

"I'm not allowed to say."

"Why?"

"Because I may be talking to a ShadowClan spy."

Fox purred, "You caught me, Shatter. Now stop pacing and tell me what he wanted."

I sat down and curled my tail around me. "Apparently our fearless leader knows this forest cat," I explained. "He told me his story, briefly. He was a kittypet at one point in time, apparently. He had two siblings who used to follow him around. One day, he led them into the forest, but they ran away scared. Then this huge tabby showed up with some other forest cats and attacked him. Apparently he held his ground pretty well, but he's had a grudge ever since. Anyway, he came to this place and his natural air of command just sucked in the other cats."

Fox looked doubtful. I purred. "I know, I know. I don't believe of word of it, but that's what he told me. In any case, this Tigerstar is the tabby, and Scourge's been forming a plan. Him showing up today was just a bonus."

"So, what does he want you do?"

"Go into the forest and find out what's going on."

"Why you?"

"He didn't specify. Probably because I'm big enough to be intimidating, but he doesn't care if I don't come back."

"Why wouldn't you come back?"

"If I'm killed."

"You? Killed?" Fox shook his head. "That's impossible."

"Well, what do you think?"

"You should go, I guess. Gain some favour."

I flicked my tail in annoyance. "I don't want him to think he controls me."

"He's getting you out of the way because he _can't_ control you," Fox meowed. "Every cat will know that."

"Why not send you with me, then? He can't control you, either."

Fox got up and walked over to me. "What cat said that I wasn't come with?" He gently head butted my shoulder, then continued walking. "I'm going hunting."

I got up to follow him.

(***)

Fox and I headed to the forest to hunt. Maybe it was because of the thought of us having to go live in it for awhile. Hunting in the forest was different than in the twolegplace, but not any harder. Fox killed a fat squirrel, I got a young rabbit. We sat side by side to eat our meal.

"You want to come with me?" I couldn't help but ask. The question had been running through my head since out previous conversation.

"Well, why not?" Fox meowed. "You can't honestly think that after all this time of being with you, I'm going to let you go off on your own. We're family. Besides, Shatter, Wren told us to take care of each other." He glanced at me then. "I… I can't forget that."

I nodded. A moment later, I pressed myself closer against his side. "And so, my friend, we'll take care of each other."

We settled back into eating. Both of us remembering Wren. Both of us taking comfort from the other's presence.

(***)

We waited a couple days before going back to Scourge's alley. Bone tried to stop us at the entrance, but for the first time I managed to brush my way past without him stopping me. Fox trailed after me. After my rough push past, Bone stepped out of the way from Fox.

I stopped in front of the pile of twoleg stuff that made up Scourge's den. I sat down and waited for Fox to reach my side before yowling, "Scourge!"

Brick, who was half-asleep in the sun nearby, jumped to his feet. "Stupid cat! You can't adder-"

"No, Brick. It's alright." The little cat walked out from his den to sit in front of me. "Well, Shatter? Your decision?"

"We'll do it."

"We'll?" Scourge glanced at Fox. "Of course, the minion."

I hissed.

"Calm down, Shatter. Of course you'll bring the tabby with you. I expected as much." He was lying, I could tell. He didn't understand the friendship I had with Fox.

"He has a name," I meowed.

"Of course he does," Scourge agreed dismissively. "So we'll discuss the plan. Bone!" he meowed loudly.

Bone was at his side in an instant. The two of them sat down in front of me and Fox.

"Tigerstar believes that BloodClan will help him win his battle," Scourge meowed. "This is, of course, incorrect. He will allow us to get close, and then we'll turn on him. I plan to kill the cat. Before I make any further decisions, however, I need to know more about him. About how he runs his clan, how obedient his cats are. That's where you come in, Shatter."

"And Fox," I meowed. Fox rolled his eyes at me. Strange how Scourge's indifference towards him bothered me more than it did him.

"Yes, and… Fox," Scourge meowed impatiently. "You will go to his clan, pretending to be loners looking for a place to stay. If my thoughts about him are correct, he'll want you, Shatter. Let him think you're loyal. Let him think that you'd die for him. Convince him of this. And do a better job than you did trying to convince me."

"I didn't bother trying."

Scourge appraised me for a moment, obviously wondering if trusting me on this job was worth the risk. He seemed to come to a conclusion. "Yes, you're a leader. You don't enjoy being controlled by anyone. I could tell when I first saw you. You're not a cat to be trifled with. I'm not going to pretend to have any power over you."

That came as a shock. My eyes widened.

"Oh yes, I know you'll never submit to being controlled," The little cat glanced at Bone, then back at me. "Bone is an excellent deputy, I couldn't ask for better. But you'd make a better leader."

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Was Scourge truly considering me to lead BloodClan after him? He hated me!

"So, once you understand Tigerstar, you'll return and tell me all you know. This is when I will plan the final details. Then, BloodClan will go to the forest. And we'll take it over."

I was still confused by his admittance of my power, but I still was paying enough attention to nod when he finished describing his plan.


	16. Among the Trees

**Disclaimer: **In this chapter, I directly quote some lines from Tigerstar, while he's on the Bonehill. I forgot to mention this earlier in chapter 13, where I also quoted lines from Tigerstar, Boulder, Bone and Scourge. All the quoted lines come from 'The Darkest Hour'. **~ Capitaine Jaf**

* * *

**Chapter Fifteen**

**Among the Trees**

We didn't leave right away. Half a moon passed before I found myself trailing after Fox as he walked along a large thunderpath that ran right between two of the forest territories. ShadowClan and ThunderClan. The thunderpath was the fastest way to the forest from the twolegplace, although the forest cats seemed not to use it. Silly, really. As long as a cat keeps a good lookout for monsters, thunderpaths are perfectly safe.

Fox veered off into the grass. I rushed forward a bit to walk by his side. "So, plan? Wander around until we're found?"

Fox nodded. "And be gentle, Shatter."

"Right…" I meowed under my breath. Cats were going to be attacking me, and I had to be gentle. I wasn't happy, but I knew Fox was right.

We didn't have to wander long. We were trying to be found, after all. The first cat we saw surprised me, however. It was the thin gray tom that we saw in the twolegplace with Tigerstar. At first I thought he might recognize us, but he didn't. He stared at us, wide eyed, but a moment later adjusted into a threatening position. I whipped my tail back and forth and hissed threateningly, telling him not to dare attack. Then three more cats emerged from the undergrowth. A small brown tom, a young dark gray tom, and a dark ginger she-cat. I made a show of standing down – didn't want to be too threatening, or they would never let us in.

The she-cat took a step forward, but the small brown tom lay his tail across her shoulders. "No, Russetfur." He meowed. Then he stepped forward. "Who are you?"

"Shatter," I bowed my head respectfully. "And my brother, Fox."

"They smell like the thunderpath," the young tom meowed.

"Yes, they do," the she-cat, Russetfur, agreed. "Well done, Ceadarpaw. Oakfur? What do we do with them?"

"What are you doing here?" the small tom asked. Russetfur flicked her ear in annoyance, so I assume she had been addressing him with her question.

"We have been traveling along the thunderpath," I explained. "We heard of powerful clans cats who lived in this area, and we were looking for them. We heard stories of the power of one particular clan…" I paused, and glanced at Fox as if I forgot the name.

"DarkClan?" he suggested. "Something like that…"

"No. ShadeClan, I think," I meowed.

Fox nodded, "Yes, that sounds-"

"ShadowClan?" Ceadarpaw asked. "That's us!"

"Shh," Russetfur flicked him with her tail.

I nodded eagerly. "Yes! That was it. ShadowClan! We heard about the strength and power of ShadowClan. Cunning, brave, strong. It sounded so amazing, we decided to travel in this direction, and hopefully find you."

The small tom regarded the two of us a little longer. "We'll take them to Tigerstar."

(***)

As Oakfur led us through the trees, Russetfur fell into step beside me. "Where do you and your brother come from?" she asked.

I glanced at Fox, who was a few paces ahead. We hadn't planned that much of a back story. Luckily, he flicked his ears at me, to show that he was listening to our supposed history. I drew from the truth.

"We were born in a monster graveyard," I explained. "Our parents were killed, and we were raised by and older tom named Bear. When we were older, we decided to leave the monster graveyard. Bear was sick, and he met a twoleg who was friendly to him. He felt that the twoleg could heal him, and so we left him there. It was hard, but we carried on traveling. Eventually, we came to a twolegplace and heard stories about the clans. Ever since then we've been traveling in this direction."

"How far away was the twolegplace?" Russetfur asked.

"About a moon and a half of constant traveling," I meowed. She didn't ask any more questions, so I asked, "And your story?"

"We just met, Shatter. I can't very well tell you that," she purred. "Besides, you may be an enemy."

I flicked her with my tail. "Coming pretty quietly for an enemy, aren't I?"

She purred again. Then the young cat sprang over to us and meowed, "We're almost there. Wait 'till you see where we live. You'll see that the stories are true."

"I've been looking forward to this for days," I meowed, and that was true.

(***)

Tigerstar didn't recognize us from the twolegplace, either. And since Fox and I didn't spend any time around the other BloodClan cats, we did not share their sent. He set a huge white tom with black paws on me, and when I had the cat pressed to the ground beneath me in less time than it took to take a breath, I knew I had grabbed the huge tabby's interest, and his approval. He didn't seem to care too much for Fox.

We gave our real names. I retold the tale I had given Russetfur. Fox added in a couple of details to make us sound better – a dog fight or two, an angry twoleg… Tigerstar was impressed. I could tell, though he tried to hide it. My praise helped, I loaded in praise for him and his clan, claiming to have heard it all in the stories that had lured us here. The tabby decided to give us a trial period, a couple days to prove our worth.

We passed.

(***)

"The she-cat likes you," Fox meowed.

"Hmm?" I wasn't paying any attention to him. I was crouched at the edge of the clearing. We were in a different territory, now. RiverClan's. I was watching Tigerstar, who was standing on top of a large pile of bones, called the Bonehill. It was revolting, to be honest. But we had to fake adoration and respect. At one side was Blackfoot, the cat who had tried to fight me, and a she-cat who I didn't know sat on the other side. She was spotted sort of like me, but her colours were almost the opposite. I knew she was supposed to be a leader of Tigerstar's clan, now named Tigerclan, but he clearly wasn't giving her any power.

"Russetfur. She likes you."

This time I heard him. I pricked up my ears. "Really?"

"Yes, really… you mousebrain," Fox sighed.

"Well… we haven't learned anything, Fox," I complained. "Think about it. Learn about how the clans are run? Tigerstar doesn't lead this like a clan, he leads it like an army."

"How can you tell? This is the only clan we know."

"I just have a feeling, Fox. I know that this isn't the way a clan works."

He shook his head and tried to draw my attention back to my admirer. "What are you going to do about Russetfur?"

"Why should I do anything?"

"We're going to attack this clan, Shatter. She's going to be killed."

"What can I do about that?" I meowed. "Besides, I don't feel the same way about her."

"I just think th-"

"Shh," I interrupted suddenly. I sat up to watch what was happening in the clearing. Three cats were being dragged into the clearing. All gray. An adult tom, severely weakened, and two young cats. I wondered what they had done to get into such trouble. But then again, one could flick his tail wrong and get into trouble around Tigerstar. The cat was a worse leader than Scourge. That much I had learned.

"Cats of TigerClan," Tigerstar meowed from his perch, "you all know the hardships that we have to face. The cold of leaf-bear threatens us. Twolegs threaten us. The other two Clans in the forest, who have not yet realized the wisdom of joining with TigerClan, are a threat to us. Surrounded as we are by enemies, we must be sure of the loyalty of our own warriors."

Fox and I exchanged a glance at that.

"There is no room in TigerClan for the halfhearted. No room for cats who might waver in battle, or worse still, turn on their own Clanmates. TigerClan will not tolerate traitors!"

Cats started to yowl in agreement. Fox and I stayed silent. "Especially we will not tolerate the abomination of half-Clan cats," Tigerstar meowed when the yowls stopped. "No loyal warrior would ever take a mate from another Clan, diluting the pure blood that our warrior ancestors decreed for us."

What was he saying? Pure blood? I almost purred in amusement. The cat who had recently let two rouges into his clan meowing about pure blood? And we weren't the first rouges, many of his precious ShadowClan cats had been at one point it time. That was something I had managed to learn.

"Bluestar and Graystripe of ThunderClan both flouted the warrior code when they took mates from RiverClan. The kits of such a union, like the ones you see in front of you now, can never be trusted."

"Filth!" Blackfoot yowled.

I rolled my eyes and stood up. "Fox, come on."

Fox glanced up at me in surprise. "We can't walk away from Tigerstar, Shatter. He'll notice, and he won't be happy."

I shrugged, and turned to stalk away. Fox sighed, got to his feet, and followed me. Tigerstar's voice faded as we drew further away.

"Half-Clan cats have been tolerated until now, but the time for tolerance has passed. There is no place in…"

Tigerstar didn't notice, of course he didn't.

(***)

Fox and I were laying side by side, eating some freshkill we had caught earlier, when Russetfur padded up and sat beside me.

"That was horrible…" she meowed quietly.

I glanced at Fox, who shrugged in reply to my unasked question. So, I decided to tell the she-cat. "We left."

"You left?" she meowed in surprise.

"Didn't know where he was heading with his whole "pure blood" thing, but I didn't like it. Fox and I are not pure blood."

"No, I suppose you're not," Russetfur agreed. "And neither are half of the cats from ShadowClan. Even Tigerstar, he was originally from ThunderClan."

That was new. I pricked my ears up. "Really? What happened?"

"I don't know."

I didn't press her. "So… are you pure blood?"

"No," she admitted after a moment. "No, I was a rouge, too." That was when she finally told me her story, and went she was done, she curled up against my side and went to sleep.


	17. Falling Tiger

**Chapter Sixteen**

**Falling Tiger**

We ended up staying with the clan for a moon. After that, there was nothing else to learn. There was hardly anything to learn in the first place. Tigerstar and Scourge were very similar, ruling their 'clans' with fear and violence. I couldn't stand being around either cat. And I knew that TigerClan was not run like a proper clan. Fox wasn't convinced, but I was sure.

So we went back to the twolegplace, to report to Scourge what we had learned. We snuck away while on a hunting patrol, so that we would time to escape before any cat would notice. We waited a few days before reporting to Scourge, since I needed a break of overbearing cats. After we made our report – Tigerstar was a violent leader who didn't have many cats who were truly loyal – Scourge made a plan.

(***)

We were hiding in the bushes, while Tigerstar and his clan were confronting another group of clans. Scourge was sitting near me and Fox, meowing quietly to Bone. He was clearly unhappy with the way we were being treated. We were waiting for a signal from the white tom with black paws, Blackfoot.

And we finally got to show ourselves.

Most of the cats had prepared for the battle, wearing their teeth filled collars, and enforcing their claws. It all seemed stupid to me. Fox and I went without. We were better fighters than many of the BloodClan cats, anyway.

(***)

Scourge led us into the clearing, where we surrounded TigerClan. Fox and I hid ourselves in the middle of our group, so that none of the TigerClan cats would see us. Bone moved to the front, to stand beside Tigerstar. He was probably pretending to be the leader, he definitely looked more the part. But then Scourge fell into place on Tigerstar's other side.

"So, Tigerstar. Do you want to tell us who your new friends are?" meowed the red tabby who was the leader of the other clans.

"This is BloodClan. They come from Twolegplace. I have brought them to the forest to persuade you foolish cats to join with me. I knew you wouldn't have the sense to agree on your own." Tigerstar explained. I couldn't blame the red tabby for not agreeing with Tigerstar, I centainly never would. Tigerstar continued, "You see, Firestar? I am even more powerful than StarClan, for I have changed the Clans in the forest from four to two. TigerClan and BloodClan will rule together."

"No, Tigerstar. If you want to fight, let us fight. StarClan will show who is more powerful."

"You mouse-brained fool! I was prepared to come here and talk with you today." No one was believing that line. Tigerstar was a mouse brained fool, as far as I was concerned. "Just remember that is was you who drove us to this. And when your clans mates are dying around you, they will blame you with their last breath." He turned to face us. "BloodClan, attack!"

Of course, none of us moved. Most were wearing for orders from Scourge. I just didn't feel like listening to any cat who thought he could control me.

Scourge took a step forward. "I am Scourge, the leader of BloodClan. Tigerstar, my warriors are not yours to command. They will attack when _I_ tell them, and not before."

The red tabby moved forward to stand in front of Scourge, Bone and Tigerstar. "Greetings, Scourge. I am Firestar, leader of ThunderClan. I wish I could say you are welcome in the forest. But you would not believe me if I did, and I have no wish to lie to you. Unlike your supposed ally here, I am a cat of honor. If you've believed any promises he made to you, you're mistaken."

He carried on to explain Tigerstar's past, but I didn't care to listen closely. I was looking over all the cats on the red tabby's side of the clearing, wondering if I'd have to kill any of them. Wondering which ones I should be cautious of. I didn't comprehend a word from the three leaders until Tigerstar loudly yowled "Traitor!" That grabbed the attention of every cat. And then he leapt.

It was a suicidal move. Any smarter cat would have realized that Scourge was prepared for such an action, and knew how to respond. Scourge moved to the side and batted at the larger cat's shoulder, which set him off balance. Then, with a vicious rip, he tore the cat open.

Tigerstar fell to the ground with a horrible cry of pain and fury. Then something happened, and I couldn't be sure what. It looked as though the cat died multiple times. But such a thing couldn't happen, surely? However, that's what it looked like. He would shake and tremble, then grow still. Then start again, in a seeming endless cycle. When finally the cat grew still for the last time, even I felt shaken by the sight. And I hadn't care for the tabby at all. Fox had pressed closer to my side during the spectacle, and I knew he felt the same way I did. Scourge was the only cat who seemed unaffected, and though I was supposed to respect him for it, I only felt contempt.

A slight signal from Bone cause all of the BloodClan cats to take a step forward, to seem threatening. Fox and I only moved because the cats behind us pushed us forward. I hissed angrily and the tom who had nudged me, and he lowered his head slightly. Satisfied, I turned back to watch what was going on.

"You see what happens to cats who defy BloodClan," Scourge meowed. "Your friend here thought he could control us. He was wrong."

"We don't want to control you," the red tabby meowed. I decided that I liked him. Or, at least, didn't dislike him as much as I disliked the other clan leaders I'd met. "All we want is to lead our lives in peace. We're sorry that Tigerstar brought you here with lies. Please feel free to hunt before you go home."

"Go home? We're not going anywhere, forest fool. In the town where we come from, there are many, many cats, and live prey is scarce. Here in the forest we won't need to depend on Twoleg rubbish for our food. We are taking over this territory now. I shall rule the forest as well as the town. But I understand that you may need some time to reflect on this. You have three days to leave – or meet my Clan in battle. I shall wait for your decision at dawn on the fourth day."

That was what we left the red tabby to think about.

* * *

**Disclaimer: **Again, I quote a lot from the book 'The Darkest Hour' **~Capitaine Jaf**


	18. Fighting Lion

**Chapter Seventeen**

**Fighting Lion**

We lived in the ShadowClan territory for those three days. The BloodClan cats seemed thrilled with the idea of a possible battle. I wasn't. Not that I was afraid, I was the silver fighter, after all. But that didn't mean I wanted to fight. Small fights were fine, this was an all out war. I knew that many cats would die in the coming fight, because the BloodClan cats were ruthless like that. I guess it should seem like I'd be all for killing, what with my tendency towards violence, but personally, I never saw the point of killing a beaten enemy.

(***)

When the day came, Scourge and Bone led us to the same clearing we had met in before. We waited on the outskirts, until we saw a brown she-cat below. Then Scourge led us into the clearing, and called out, "I know you're there! Come and give me your answer."

For a moment there was no response, then the other cats entered the clearing, led by the red tabby.

"Greetings," Scourge meowed. "Have you decided to leave? Ot do you presume you can fight against BloodClan?"

"We don't have to fight. WE will let you go back to Twolegplace in peace," the red tabby meowed.

"Go back? Do you really think we're such cowards? No, this is own home now."

"The forest is ours. We rule here by the will of StarClan."

"StarClan! Tales for kits. Forest fool, StarClan won't help you now," Scourge meowed. He jumped to his feet, then snarled, "Attack!"

I rolled my shoulders, getting ready to leap in. Fox nudged me with his shoulder, a quick version of his friendly head-butt.

"LionClan, attack!" the red tabby yowled in response.

Then my fighting instincts took over.

(***)

Fox and I fought side by side for what seemed like moons. We did our best to not kill any cats. Around us, the fight was more violent. At one point, a long-furred grey tom was fighting me, and he was good. I was truly shocked by the abilities of some of the forest cats. I had the advantage of size and strength, but they were all using moves that were clearly learned and practiced. Fox and I had seen this training while we were staying with TigerClan, but I hadn't imagined that it would work so well.

I started to chase the grey tom off, but paused and glanced back at Fox, who was fighting a tortoiseshell she-cat. With Wren gone, I had turned my protectiveness onto Fox. It wasn't necessary. When I had first met him, he saved me and my sister from a giant dog, after all. With that in mind, I brushed a cat aside and ran after the grey tom.

I was knocked aside suddenly by a thin, sleek black cat. He was much smaller than me, but he had taken me by surprise. "Leave Graystripe alone," he hissed in my ear.

The grey tom returned on my other side, "Ravenpaw," he acknowledged the black tom. I was forced to pull back from the two of them, but I didn't head back to Fox's location immediately. I found my way to the outskirts of the fighting cats, just to get a look at what was going on. The number of cats seemed to have lessened slightly, from being chased away, or unfortunately, killed. After a moment of watching, I threw myself back into the fight.

I found Fox surrounded, and jumped onto one of the cats he was fighting. After a moment, the cat ran off, so I turned to face another. Soon, Fox and I were side by side again.

"This is ridiculous," he hissed under his breath.

"I know," I agreed.

"Why do we even want to live here?"

"We don't."

"Why did we join this clan?"

I shrugged. "Did we really? We just share the same living space. Scourge's admitted that he can't control me."

"Then why did you let him drag us into a fight?"

I cuffed his head playfully. "That's great, Fox."

He purred, just as a small brown cat rammed into his side. He was knocked onto his side, but he rolled over and leapt at the cat. I recognized it as Oakfur. The tom hissed angrily at Fox.

"Traitor."

"Not a traitor," Fox replied calmly. "Your 'great' leader just wasn't very good at picking clan members," he let the cat up, who bolted away.

In that time, I had started fighting a light tabby she-cat.

Then, loud yowling filled the clearing. "Scourge! Scourge is dead!"

I gave the tabby a sharp slash on its shoulder, and then turned to leave. If Scourge was dead, then there was no one keeping me here. It was then that I noticed that Fox was gone. I ran through the crowds of cats, and saw other BloodClan cats doing the same. But they were fleeing the LionClan cats, I was searching.

"Fox!" I yowled loudly. I almost couldn't hear myself over the yowls from other cats.

"Shatter!" a dark shape appeared in front of me, and I froze. Russetfur blocked my way, her fur stuck up angrily. She hissed. "How could you do this to us?"

"I didn't do anything," I protested. I hesitated a moment later, and then jumped over her. I felt her claws graze my tail as I rushed off. I shouldered my way past various other cats, before I finally saw Fox up ahead of me. I yowled his name again, and he turned.

His light green eyes met mine.

Then he crumpled to the ground.

(***)

Everything seemed to be going in slow motion. The cats around us grew blurry as I approached Fox's side. He was facing me, and his eyes were still glued to mine.

"Fox?" I meowed shakily.

He blinked at me. "Shatter… he's dead? Scourge?"

I nodded, while I glanced up over trying to find the reason for the collapse. Then I saw the deep claw marks on the back of his neck, the blood had blended with his dark red fur. "Fox-"

"I know, stupid hedgehog," he purred quietly. "I know."

"Fox…" it seemed to be all I could say.

He weakly reached up with his paw to nudge my shoulder. "It doesn't hurt, Shatter." He paused. "Do you think it hurt Wren?" Then he met my gaze again, before his eyes closed for the last time.

My world fell apart.

Everyone I had ever cared about was gone.

It took me a moment to realize that almost all of the BloodClan cats had fled, except for me. I lingered a bit longer at Fox's side, wishing frantically that what had just happened was a dream. Maybe I'd wake up and the day of the fight would be starting again? But I knew that wasn't true.

I buried my head against his shoulder and took a few deeps breaths. Then I jumped over him and ran.

* * *

**Disclaimer: **Again, quotes from 'The Darkest Hour'. **~ Capitaine Jaf**


	19. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

It hadn't happened. It couldn't have happened. Was I really that unlucky? If that StarClan existed, they hated me.

My return to the twolegplace was a blur. Before I knew it, I found myself wandering down an alley, completely alone for the first time in my life. Shoved against the wall was a bright twoleg thing, one of those ones they use to sit on.

I threw myself at it, tearing through the colourful skin to the white fluff that was underneath. I tore the thing to shreds, unleashing all of my pent up anger on it. I almost wished a cat would appear, so that I could attack it instead.

I wanted to go back to the forest and find the cat who took Fox. In that moment, I hated all the clan cats. Even the red tabby, who I had admired for standing up to Scourge and Tigerstar. I hated him. If he'd just given up, I'd still have _my_ red tabby.

Fox… Fox… his name ran in circles through my head. He was my closest… my _only_ friend, my last tie to Wren. I kept tearing at the twoleg object, but my attacks grew shakier as I thought more about the cats I had lost. First, Shard and Willow. Bear… Wren… Fox…

I finally had to stop my attack when pain blazed through the scars on my shoulder.

(***)

I'm not sure exactly when the idea to take over BloodClan hit. It was some time during the massacre of the twoleg object. When I stopped, and I had managed to calm down slightly, the idea was just there.

I could almost hear Fox's comment. _Are you sure you want to control these cats, Shatter? Are you sure you even want to stay around this twolegpalce?_

"Yes," I meowed under my breath. "I do."

A plan started to form. I could make BloodClan better than it was under Scourge. I could borrow practices from the clans. This meant that I'd have to send in another cat to learn more, seeing as my knowledge of clan life was tainted by Tigerstar's horrible leadership. But that would be easy enough.

I could fix BloodClan.

I was well enough known that my proposition wouldn't be completely ignored. Scourge himself had said that I'd be a good leader, Bone had heard him.

If Bone had survived the fight and was claiming to be leader, I'd just challenge him. If any other cat tried to claim the position, I'd do the same. Scourge had no kin, no one who could truly claim the right to lead the clan.

I imagined having that kind of power. The power to have cats do my every whim without question. I've always been a leader, I could handle it.

Fox had been my conscious, he was the only one who could control me. Without him around, BloodClan didn't have a chance against me.

(***)

I returned to Scourge's alley. That's where the most loyal of his cats would have gone, to see what was becoming of the clan. It felt strange to pace in and not be challenged by Bone.

I saw a circle of cats up ahead, and I padded over to them. Brick and Tear, the two cats who were just below Bone in the hierarchy of Scourge's clan, looked over at me suspiciously. Of course, they knew the strained relationship Scourge and I shared. I was not a loyal cat. But they said nothing. I made room for myself beside a thin black and white cat. It took me a moment to remember his name, but then it came to me. Striker. The other four cats were two sets of brothers. Ice and Snake, and two toms named Fang and Talon.

As I looked over the cats, I tried to figure out what my chances would be of convincing them. I'd have no problem with Ice and Snake. Ever since that first day when Fox and I beat them, they'd been scared of me. Fang and Talon I didn't really know, but they didn't seem to be the type to go against common thought. If I convinced the others, the two brothers would agree as well. Striker I knew a little bit. The little cat was clever, and I'd liked him. He'd follow me, if Tear and Brick agreed to. Really, it was all up to convincing the two older toms.

Striker was the first to speak, which took me by surprise. I had been watching Tear and Brick, waiting for them to start. "The red tabby killed Scourge," he told us quietly. "I saw it happen. It was horrible. Scourge had killed the red tabby, I swear by my life that he did… and then the tabby stood up. 'I am a leader with nine lives who fights alongside StarClan. Can you say as much?' the red tabby said. Scourge attacked him. I lost sight of them both for a moment… and then Scourge was dead."

Nine lives? Could I get nine lives? My mind wandered. If I had nine lives, I'd be invincible. Utterly invincible.

"And Bone?" Brick meowed. I pricked up my ears, this answer interested me.

"Killed by a bunch of… what did they call them… apprentices," Ice meowed.

"Four or five of them, maybe more," Snake added.

"Is this the end of BloodClan?" Tear asked.

This was my chance. Without hesitation, I meowed. "No." I got to my feet, using my old 'I'm bigger than you' trick. There was no question in my mind. I knew these cats would agree. Besides, I was worked up enough to attack any cat who didn't. "No. I will lead BloodClan."

(***)

_Stupid tom, _I could imagine Fox standing at my side, rolling his eyes. _But good luck._

_

* * *

_

For those of you who didn't read Shattered Clan first, this is exactly where it picks up. So go enjoy!

For everyone else who's been following Shatter as I write about him, this is the end of his story. At the moment, I can't think of anything else to write about him. But I do love him, so it is possible that I might write more about him, if I can think of anything to write.

For now, however, I have other stories in mind that I want to write. Some more warriors ones, and some completely different ones.

Thanks to everyone who has been with me and Shatter as I write, and thanks to any people in the future who read the whole Shattered Trilogy!

**~Capitaine Jaf**

_Oh, on another note, Shatter and Fox appear in another story written by 'Firefrost and Flamepelt', called '**Quicksilver, Book one: Shattered Reality'**. So go check that out!_


End file.
